Sister Simon's Murder Case

by Margaret Ann Hubbard

Set in the picturesque wilds of a Midwestern resort town at the height of the tourist season, Sister Simon’s Murder case begins with the murder of a terrified elderly lady, Dannie Grear. But what was she so afraid of? And who is the killer who keeps attacking anyone he thinks may know too much?

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Margaret Ann Hubbard was born in North Dakota and was educated at the University of Minnesota and the Goodman School of the Theatre, Chicago. She wrote a number of books including religious biographies and historical fiction for young readers, as well as adult mysteries.

Reviews

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gem.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing mystery that is solved my a nun.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nun solves a murder...

[Yibbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I listened to this instead of reading it, I’m afraid that I cannot supply direct exact quotes for my following concerns. I have recommended books that feature Catholic heroes and heroines before such as the Cadfael series, but this book was different. There were numerous references to the way the nuns were working their way to heaven whether it was by taking their vows or by following the rules of their order. Never were Christ’s death, burial and resurrection mentioned. It was heartbreaking; for the Bible is very clear that it isn’t by following any rules that we get to heaven. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5) That concern alone would make me hesitate to recommend this mystery.
Of less concern, but annoying all the same, are a few confusing details. First off are the extremely abrupt changes of points of view. It not only jumps to a completely new character's point of view, anywhere from minutes to hours later, with no warning, it then reintroduces characters we already know as complete strangers. It was hard to follow. Then I personally found it confusing having a main female character named Danny. It wouldn’t have been so confusing but they introduce her using the first-person point of view. We don’t know her name so when other characters start calling her Danny it takes a while to catch on to who they are talking about.
As a mystery, it wasn’t that great. Oh, I didn’t guess who did it, and the ending was so convenient that I’m not sure the author knew how to catch her murderer either.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ‘read’ an audio book recorded by LibriVox. It is not listed here, but I had the same cover image.

Gripping! From the start, the mystery of why the little lady was fearful pulls you into the unfolding intrigue. Something from the past makes her afraid. Who can she turn to? More and more people with links to the woman are revealed. Who can be trusted, who is in danger, and who is the one to fear? And Sister Simon realises the immediate need to move quickly. More quickly that the Police think is needed.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot and characters, well narrated. Christian thoughts, doesn’t beat you to death with it - very nice to have a Christian-based mystery that’s worthwhile. Recommended

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A woman is murdered and her friends at the hospital want to know why. The head of nursing, a nun, becomes involved because she feels partly responsible. After an attempt on a doctor's life and the murder of an innocent woman, who only wanted to help, the search for the murderer becomes frantic and the possibility of another murder is high.

This was a Librivox recording and though the reader read it well as there was no stumbling and no background noises it was fairly monotone even though she used different voices for the characters. It was not a great story for this venue as it moved quite slowly.